


Find Her, Destroy Her

by TricksterGod



Category: Final Fantasy IX
Genre: F/M, Gen, I just moved over here.., Yes I am sesshy-stalker-kendra on ffnet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2018-01-01 23:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TricksterGod/pseuds/TricksterGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuja's plans could not have gone smoother regarding the Queen and Princess Garnet..until a second princess is brought to his attention. Once thought to be a specter of his past, what is he to do with her? Kill her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Rather Odd Situation

Queen Brahne was steadily growing more and more impatient as the clock beside her struck 11am. He was going to be late solely to spite her and drag out what SHOULD be a substantially quick "business" meeting. Half past 11, a knock came at her sitting room door.

"Enter." She called, unable to mask the impatience in her voice.

The door opened and in walked a tall, porcelain skinned man that positively screamed power. He was dressed rather….unusually though not garishly with visually BLINDING colors. The breastplate he wore was dark purple edged with gold, pure white bell sleeves hung from the lower most edge of the armor; this armor was short though, it ended right below his ribs, revealing his flat stomach. And when he moved his hands, deep purple metallic wristlets could be seen. Hugging his rather feminine hips was a nearly floor length sarong made of the same white material as the sleeves, also bordered with gold. Though the most astonishingly revealing part of this ensemble was -no joke- a thong. It was black and seemingly of metal material. Though if it truly was, considering where it was, it had to be light in weight, so it was most likely mythril.

But the truly eye-catching feature of this man was his face; he was a most beautiful sight to behold. With back length layered, lavender tinted silver hair, piercing sapphires for eyes and deliciously soft looking shell pink lips. No girl –or man for that matter- could resist a come on from this particular male. The Queen giggled as he shut the door softly with a push with one graceful finger before turning towards her, bowing and moving fluidly over to the chair opposite her and sitting down.

"I am going to assume that Your Majesty is pleased with my mages, yes?" he questioned, his voice soft and pleasant.

"I am EXTREMELY pleased, Kuja. They are excellent." Brahne's unusually high and scratchy voice clawed at Kuja's ears and he tried not to wince.

Though hearing that he had done well, Kuja let a sultry smirk pass over his face.

"Oh good. So…the 20,000 is a sufficient number, am I right?"

Brahne shook her head vigorously, her entire body jiggled like gelatin under the yards of fabric that made up her badly colored gown. On the outside, Kuja's expression was unchanging as he witnessed this, though internally he was screaming in revulsion.

"I need more Kuja, I MUST have more."

Well…Kuja could admit ONE thing he and this elephant woman had in common, the overwhelming need for absolute power and control in every situation. He WAS merely the Weapons Dealer in all of this business work, so he was at her mercy right? Of course not. Kuja had more of an ego than God, and even if she couldn't see it, Kuja was pulling the strings. Brahne was really just making all this easier for him to command.

"I see….how many more will Your Majesty need?" He asked affably, the fingers of his right hand drumming on one arm of the chair.

"At least 50,000 more."

A highly pleased look touched his face as he heard this. He brought a hand to his cheek and tapped it thoughtfully.

"My, my Your Majesty, that is a rather tall order….but it can easily be done." His voice trailed off in a way that insinuated a 'But…' somewhere after the fact.

The Queen looked at him, a curious annoyance in her beady eyes.

"Yes?"

"The payment for this batch will be substantially….larger." Kuja replied, keeping his tone light.

Brahne raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well….seeing as you are right…you may have whatever it is you want."

If he had been alone, Kuja would have jumped up and down and danced in sheer glee. But seeing as that was totally not like him, he wouldn't and didn't. He had to think about this now…he didn't want money…God what would he do with it? He had as much as he ever needed…but…

"Your daughter." He replied.

At this, Brahne seemed confused, like he had been speaking a different language.

"…Which one?"

Now it was Kuja who was confused. She had more than Garnet? God…with his luck the other daughter or daughters would be just as ugly as Brahne. He felt temporarily ill at the thought of having such a creature in the Desert Palace…

"Excuse me? You…you have more than one daughter?"

Brahne laughed her grating cackle and nodded.

"Yes, just one other. A rather annoying girl and I would be most grateful if you took her off my hands."

'Oh GODS, the girl MUST be hideous if she is trying to pawn her off on me…'

"And why is it that I haven't met this…Second Princess?" Kuja's voice rang with an edge of slight exasperation.

Brahne fanned at her flabby face as she pondered this.

"The girl has been a recluse since the death of the King, she rarely speaks to anyone but Garnet and Beatrix."

That explained it…IF this mystery princess was actually real. Kuja sat up, stretching a bit.

"Well then…I will have to meet this Princess….what is her name?" He asked. What the hell, he'd play along with the Queen if it got him away faster.

"Her name is Samara."

Kuja stared at Brahne, his eyes disbelieving.

"…Where is she….Or…where could I find this Samara..?"

"Honestly, Kuja, I don't know, nor do I care. You will have to seek out Beatrix to find out, or Garnet. She should be in for her lessons at the library." Brahne answered seeming bored with the subject of her other daughter.

Kuja resisted the urge to roll his eyes before the Queen and rose from his seat, bowing fully, bending from the waist.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He said turning from her and exiting the room.

Lord above Kuja couldn't stand being feet from that woman, if that truly was what she was. No matter...he had more important things before him. Could this Samara be the same as…no…impossible…no one, let alone a 4-year-old bed ridden girl, could have survived such a plummet…BUT. If it was his Samara…well, well…it would be fun destroying her world as it was now, her the imperfect, albeit under-trained secondary and most forgotten princess of Alexandria, shadowed by Princess Garnet; he, the powerful, well-trained mage…he would show no mercy on this little slip of a girl. She would be….16 almost now? PERFECT. Teenagers were always so volatile, this would be much more fun then he could have imagined.

He headed first to the library. Princess Garnet would probably be easier to get information out of. Though…as he walked down the corridor, he saw ahead of him, what seemed to be a young woman, dressed in a black silk mourning gown, a dark veil over her head, blocking her face from the world. He stopped, watching her as she came closer. The girl seemed to be starting back at him, as she too stopped in her tracks.

"…Yes?" She asked, her voice was defensive but soft.

He bowed to her with a smirk.

"My dear girl…you wouldn't happen to know where the Princess Samara is would you?" he said, his disarming manner creeping back into his words.

She nodded.

"You are speaking to her, sir…How can she help you?"

Kuja could have screamed in joy.


	2. Paranoia and Location of a Princess

Oh what to do, what to say…Kuja's mind whirred with ideas. God, he could confuse her greatly, tell her how weak she must be, due to her lack of training; he could be benevolent and tell her what every woman wanted to hear, that rumors of the unknown Princess' beauty lured him, fueled his want to meet her –which was very true, he had wanted to see what this once little girl had turned out to be, though he would never admit as much. He leaned to one side slightly, tapping his lower lip with one graceful finger, seeming to ponder his answer, watching her intently. As she lifted the veil, Samara's face did not change expression as she watched him, no sign of irritation nor impatience graced the girl's pale, but pretty face, however cold calculation stared back at him.

'Well…' The Mage thought, watching her still. 'She isn't an UNFORTUNATE child…there is a point for her…no expression…what an icy princess..'

Samara cleared her throat softly, politely.

"Sir, you may have all day, but sadly I do not. Thusly, either you let me pass or you answer me: How may I help you?" Even her tone hadn't yet changed, any normal person would be furious at the lapse in his efficiency to reply.

Kuja chuckled softly and slowly shook his head.

"It is nothing Princess, nothing at all." He said giving her a small smirk, before turning away from her, heading back down the hall at his usual fluid gait.

'Always keep them guessing...' He reminded himself as he went, fighting the urge to turn his head just so, to see the expression on the Princess' face, if there WAS one. She seemed the complete opposite of what he had been ready to expect. If what he had told him was true then…Well, perhaps it was the effect of being on Gaia for so long…Never mind…She would wake to it soon enough, granted that he was able to receive her as his payment.

A frown pasted it self on Samara's face as he turned away, turning the corner far from where she stood, leaving her line of sight. Something was off here…This man…she had spotted him around the castle before, but had it in her mind to stay away from his. FAR, FAR away.

The factory in Dali was churning out a rather sufficient number of Black Mages, though it seemed like an eternity to Kuja. For once, his stoic demeanor was cracking. Through his waiting period, seeds of doubt and minor paranoia implanted themselves in his mind. He couldn't…be WRONG about who she was could he? Could there be TWO Samaras? Could there be two young women with icy, Prussian blue eyes, pale skin and hair? Impossible. Quite impossible.

Two weeks into the 2nd batch of soldiers, a flitting piece of suspicion crossed his mind.

What if she suddenly caught on to him? What if she suddenly remembered him or …..? Would she put two and two together? If she did, would she fight?

It was this last that snapped him back to reality. HA. Fight him? She could try, but killing her would be like snapping the neck of a baby bird; Unpleasant, but oddly refreshing.

'I COULD kill her anyways…she would never see it coming…or maybe she would…But meaningless death is a waste of precious time…and such a waste of beauty...Although in the event she remembers –miraculously- and she is unable to fight me, she may cause a snag in my plans, though if I kill her that would solve one problem, but that is rather pointles-No, No, you are doing it again Kuja.' God he hated talking to himself, he'd get himself talking circles and plunging himself into a depression-hazed anger that was scarily border-line violent and would get him nowhere. Not much longer now…as soon as the remaining 21,000 mages would be finished and as soon as this was so, he would take the little 'princess' down into the cool depths of the Kiera Desert and –granted lady luck was with him as per usual- she would stay there until the deed was done. After that well…all in due time.

In the meantime, it occurred to him, that either Samara was avoiding him…or she rarely was seen about the castle. In the two weeks since he had spoken to her, he had seen that female General several times, he'd seen Princess Garnet and that Tetnus ridden Captain SEVERAL times and he'd witnessed the Gelatin Woman more time than he'd have liked; but he had yet to see that frozen girl again. As much as he hated to do it, he disliked being desperate, he walked circles, triangles, trapezoids and rhomboids, trying to find this child. After a few days, Kuja gave up and decided to ask directly. And who better to ask, but Samara's own 'sister', Garnet. This one was easy to find. More often than not, she could be found in a slightly public place, such as the Royal Library, so he searched there first. Fortunately, she was there, seeming studying, but in the afternoons, there was no lessons. After being around these people for such an amount of time, Kuja picked up on they're routines quickly, being the perceptive bastard he was. Though, despite the fact that the soles and heels of his boots clicked noisily against the black shocked white marble floor, she did not seem to hear him; even as he stood behind her, to her right, uncomfortably close even, she didn't notice him until a firm, monotonous tone flitted across the room, bounding of the walls as loud as a yell, though the voice was not strident: "What are you doing here?"

At this, Garnet started and turned around quickly, her dark hair falling gracefully over one bare shoulder.

"O-Oh! Greetings." She softly said.

Though he heard this greeting, Kuja was concentrating on the source of the powerful inquiry that jolted the raven-haired princess. It came from a familiar black clothed female, a thick tome in her pale hands, her indigo eyes narrowed suspiciously at him.

Now there was no need to ask after the girl, there she was, once again, like Kuja had silently called to her as he decided to give up his search. A sly, albeit polite smirk crossed his striking face.

"Ah just the young lady I was looking for." He chuckled.

Samara slammed her book closed and replaced it on the shelf before her, she turned fully towards him.

"Come to answer my question, Lord Kuja?" She asked coldly.

'So she now knows my name does she? Figures she would inquire.'

He stepped away from Garnet, towards Samara.

"Perhaps, Your Highness, if you would grant me, the allowance to have a private discussion with you."

Oh the silence that enveloped the three solitary figures was deafening. Kuja, with that smirk still residing on his face, standing half-way between the two Princesses; Samara the furthest away, her back to the a row of shelves, her hands planted on her hips, expression monotone as it was the last time they had met; and Garnet, having not the slightest inkling as to why her sister looked so hostile. For a moment, Kuja thought rejection was near, until Samara sighed and her hands slid from her waist to her sides.

"I suppose…"


	3. Flirting with Disaster?

She didn't look at Kuja as they ambled down the corridor. Her mind was tumbling over itself, in wonder at what the hell he wanted.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked, turning her head to look at him as they went along.

Tittering softly to himself, Kuja returned her glance.

"Tell me…dear Princess, why such hostility towards me? What ever have I done to you, besides attempt to engage you in conversation?" His voice was honeyed and low, eyes burning with something angered, dark, indescribable, a certain something that frightened her.

"That look there…that is what makes me so." Samara replied, eyes fastened on his as if frozen there, unable to pull away.

Kuja tilted his head to one side.

"Look? Princess, I am not intending to give you a look." That's right Kuja, play cute, maybe she'll be dim enough not to see through it.

The princess's face darkened and she brought back her hand, only to let it fly across his face. The suddenness of the potential bitch slap, made Kuja stumble to one side some, his ice blue eyes were wide, anger flooded his senses and very slowly he turned his head to look back at her. She stood there, trembling, eyes hadn't left his, her breathing was steady and shaky.

"You…you dare…" Kuja started.

"I dare? YOU dare speak and treat me like this? You…you have no regard for status. You…" Her anger had died, its steam dried up as soon as she slapped him, her expression returning to ice.

Kuja straightened a metallic copper taste now present in his mouth. Blood…The little thing had made him bleed. With a barely audible growl, Kuja reached out and pulled Samara close to his body, one hand came up to grip her chin, keep her facing him, the other circling around her waist to hold her there. Anyone coming upon this scene would assume a romantic moment was in bloom, but it was anything but.

"I would watch myself Princess," he started stopping only to pull her closer as she tried to rip from him. "You see, contrary to what everyone here might think, I am not ALWAYS a gentleman. If you lash out at me, I will indeed retaliate."

Suddenly, Samara jerked forward, intending to slam him into a wall. Part of the way there, Kuja whirled around, ensuring that Samara ended up against the wall instead of him.

"And…I do not play fair." He still had a hold of her face and he leaned forward quickly to plant a kiss on the corner of her mouth before stepping back from her, smirking still.

Samara glared at him, a spark jumped in her eyes, a soft humming was heard, like the sound a generator would make. For a moment Kuja thought he had gone spare, had he spent too much time in the factory? Was he hearing those damned machines, even being so far from the plant? No. Kuja's optics were then drawn to the palms of the girl's hands. They were glowing a light, light yellow, her eyes fastened on him still.

"Oh ho ho…No no Princess, none of that." He once again stepped closer and covered her glowing hands with his, a word was murmured and the light died.

"Please…for your own safety, do not attack me again. I have a policy about not bringing back broken toys."

Her eyes widened and she looked at him, an unreadable expression there.

"W-What?"

Kuja laughed. "I did not stutter…" He took one step back and bent at the waist, kissing her hand, before turning away and taking his leave of her.

The girl stood there, eyes wide still; she looked down at her hands, to find deep azure colored symbols on her palms. Panicking, she tried to conjure a simple fire spell, but to no avail. After a few moments of silence, she turned around and kicked a hole into the ornately decorated hallway wall.

He couldn't have been more pleased at the current situation with the little princess. Never again would she attempt to use her power on him...though…the thought of a future slap lingered on his horizon.

"Hmm…can't have that…can I?" Kuja mused to himself.

Thusly for the rest of the day, all through the night and until mid afternoon the next day, Kuja spent his time drawing up yet another seal to place upon Samara. By the time it was complete, Kuja was exhausted. Pinning a 'DO NOT DISTURB UPON PENALTY OF SUPERIOR DEATH' sign on the door of his quarters, Kuja collapsed amongst the soft blankets and pillows that adorned his bed in varying shades of indigo and violet without further ado and he dropped off almost instantly.

The princess on the other hand couldn't sleep. Oooo that mage infuriated her, but as she thought about it, something other than hate was stirring in the back of the mind. Furiously she forced it down. How could she think that of him? The horrible man…she was not going to forgive him for touching her so, ESPECIALLY after he kissed her. It may not have been full on…but that was not the point. The question that boiled her blood the most was WHY he had showed up at the castle in the first place…and especially since her father the King had not been dead long…Something was going on and she knew it. Now, she had done her share of snooping where her mother was concerned, but none of the Queen's papers explained anything. There was no correspondence between this weapon's dealer and the Queen…at least none that she saw. Granted the Queen could have had those papers hidden elsewhere in the castle…Samara knew that if that was the case…she would never find them. The answer to her questions most likely lay… in the chambers of that mad man. She hated that this was her last option. She had asked Steiner and Beatrix, but neither of them knew either, and they distrusted him just as much as she did and of course, Garnet knew nothing but was suspicious as well. Armed with a skeleton key, Samara knew what she had to do and she set off for the mage's room late in the night. With luck, he would not be there, with luck she could discover his true purpose before all went to hell.

Her good sense of the castle's layout, she discovered was a godsend. No wonder why Tot had her pouring over the schematics of the castle. So she wouldn't get lost was the long term goal, but now it served a higher purpose. Infiltration. Soon she found herself in the western most corridor, the location of the majority of spare rooms. Stopping a moment, Samara's mind ran over the blueprints in her head. Right side…4th door down. Reopening her eyes, she stepped silently down the hall. Seeing as stealth was required here, Samara was dressed in a light, not as heavily ornate gown of black, for movement, her feet were bare, eliminating sound. As she came upon the correct door, she spotted the sign. One eyebrow rose. Wait…did that mean he was in? Slowly she pressed her ear to the door, listening. Not a peep.

Looking to the sides a few times, Samara very slowly inserted the skeleton key, before turning the doorknob, opening the door quietly.

First she poked her head in, looking around. The room was elegant made up, most likely by the inhabitant himself. The wall above what Samara assumed was the desk was covered in pieces of parchment with sketches and notes. A table close to that, resembled a table Samara had in her own room, a vanity, complete with mirror and what she assumed, beauty products. Deciding she didn't want to really know…Samara made her way to the desk to look closer at the items on the wall. The sketches were mostly of pod shaped vessels, all empty save the last one, which appeared to contain a human being with a tail curving from the base of its spine.

'My god…what is this?' Samara felt chilled just looking at them.

As for the notes that accompanied the sketches, Samara could read them, but she realized that the words and letters were of a language she had never seen before.

"…Stasis Pod, reformatted to Generation Pods…should process Mages completely with out fail…Mages?" Samara murmured, one hand rested now on the edge of the paper she was reading.

"…Catching up on some reading Princess?"

As soon as she heard it, it occurred to Samara that maybe she should have checked the ENTIRE room. Slowly she turned to see Kuja sitting up, looking well rested and mostly dressed on the edge of the bed that occupied at least a third of the room. She paled.

"…I-I…"

"Couldn't keep away?" He filled in for her, even though he knew damn well that is not what she wanted to say.

She frowned at him and turned fully about to face him as he rose to his feet and moved over to her. She made a movement as if to step away when Kuja reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her close to him in one fluid motion, his lips lay close to her ear.

"Oh no, no, Princess…you will not get away this time. You have invaded my space, ignore my sign requesting peace. Since I assume you are here for information…perhaps I should give you some...Hmmm?" His voice was low and husky, his grip tightening on her wrist. Samara gulped and she looked at him, his eyes were half open and staring at her.

"Let me go…" She murmured, it sounded almost pleading, she was truly terrified at this point, she had no where to run, there was no way she could make it to the door and out before he did something else to her.

"Oh…I do not think so…" he chuckled pulling her towards the bed and with one gentle push, she was on her back, fury mixed fear in her eyes.


	4. Ultimatum and A Revelation

As soon as she was pushed, Samara rolled across the bed, getting to her feet on the other side, grabbing a candlestick from Kuja's beside table she held it up in front of herself defensively. "Don't touch me!" She warned, eyes on him as he moved with a cat's slow grace around the foot of the bed. Kuja stopped a few feet infront of her. "Why Princess...violence does not become you." He commented, holding his hands up from his sides. "Put it down." Samara shook her head, eyes not leaving him.

"I am no fool, Kuja. I don't trust you." He folded his arms casually, shaking his head a bit. "I will not fight with you Princess, but I shall have my way." With the flick of a wrist, the candlestick glowed red hot and Samara dropped it with a cry. Her hands were blistered red, she held them gingerly to her chest, eyes watering. 

"You...horrible man.." she managed, gasping sharply when her hands were pulled away from her body by a pair of cooler hands. His hands. Instinctively Samara tried to pull away, but he gripped her wrists hard. "Such wounds Princess, you must be more careful." He said softly, bringing her palms to his lips and kissing the reddened skin.

His words angered her immensely as she watched him. He was the one who burned her! However, the light kisses he placed on her hands, made her blush despite her anger. Silently she stared at him as he straightened, still holding her hands in his. "Let go of me..please." Her voice shook, she tried to pull her hands back from him but he wouldn't let go. "You cannot heal these injuries Princess and I REALLY do not want you to explain to someone, say...your sister as to where you got them and why. So...I shall make you a deal, hmm?" He tilted his head some to one side, watching her. She was silent a moment, before sighing, a sign of giving up. "What deal...?"

Kuja smirked softly at her, rubbing his thumb over her palm gingerly, sapphire eyes not leaving hers. "I shall heal these burns and release the seals on you, in return for you staying out of my business and no more of your attitude or your cheek. Behave for me my silver princess, do as you are told and we shall get along. Yes?" Samara frowned lightly. "Do as I am told? You do not command ME, I shall not listen to you, cur." She argued, not breaking eye contact. "Oh but you shall indeed...if you want to leave this room tonight or any night after this, Princess..you do not seem to understand the predicament you are in." A silver eyebrow raised as she looked at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" her voice was firm, but a hint of panic had found its way inside it.

"What I mean Princess is merely this. Your mother seems to hold no love or loyalty for you. She is not hesitant in the slightest to be rid of you, in fact she has offered you to me as payment for services rendered and as it stands, I have not officially give her my answer." He spoke with a casual lilt to his voice. "However I am going to accept the offer...so." He said, leaning his face closer to hers. "I'd start behaving if I were you." 

The expression on her face was priceless, like he had slapped her. She swallowed hard, her eyes wide, nodding as she did so. "I...alright..." The fight had drained from her, head lowering some. He closed the small gap between them, leaving a kiss on her forehead. "Good girl, Samara." He ran his fingers over her palms healing them as they went, the blue seals on her palms dissipated as well. 

When he had finished, Samara did not move, her eyes still wide. "Go now Samara...you are free..for now." His words held a promise that Samara didn't want to see kept. She turned and she fled his room, shutting the door as she went. Once she was gone, Kuja sunk onto his bed, one hand over his heart, the organ beat hard in his chest. Damnit...he should have remembered this before...but was so intent on FINDING the girl he hadn't thought twice. She was a woman now by most standards so..damn Garland and his fail-safes. Kuja punched his pillow hard. "I cannot wait to confront you old man...just you wait..."

Once released Samara ran for her room, grateful to not run into anyone in the halls as she went. Once in the sanctuary of her room, she slammed the door shut and locked it, pressing her back to it. "Oh god...oh god..." she gasped, hands clenched before her as she slips down the front of the doors. What he said...couldn't be true could it? The Queen couldn't just...sell her off like that..

Oh but she could and it was clear that she would. It was no hidden thing to Samara of how much her mother disliked her, she knew but left the topic unspoken of, it made things easier. Mostly on Garnet, who remained blissfully ignorant of the whole situation..but..to GIVE her to that man...as payment for WHAT services she wondered. She shook her head, raised herself from the floor and went to her bed, curling up on her side, fully dressed and all; deciding that she didn't really want to know.


End file.
